System and method for scalably tracking media playback using blockchain

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for tracking media file playback are provided. A request to upload a media file and metadata associated with the media file is received. Next, the media file and metadata is uploaded via a blockchain protocol. Next, a request to play the media file is received from a client device or a digital service provider (DSP) platform. The request to play the media file is validated via the blockchain protocol. Upon validating the request to play the media file, the media file is transmitted for playback at the client device or DSP platform. Last, the number of times the media file is played is tracked via the blockchain protocol.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/586,876 by Batey et al., filed on Sep. 27, 2019, titled SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR SCALABLY TRACKING MEDIA PLAYBACK USING BLOCKCHAIN, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/457,663 by Batey etal., filed on Jun. 28, 2019 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SCALABLYTRACKING MEDIA PLAYBACK USING BLOCKCHAIN, which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety and for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to digital media, and specifically totracking streaming media.

BACKGROUND

The music industry generates an estimated $25 billion in revenue basedon royalties. With the advent of the Internet, streaming technologymakes it easy for listeners to listen to almost any song of theirchoosing. Artists usually work with music labels to distribute media andto help collect revenue based on royalties. These music labelsdistribute media through a variety of different mediums, includingstreaming platforms or digital service providers (DSPs), such as Spotifyor Apple.

Although access to songs has been facilitated by DSPs, keeping track ofall songs streamed or the amount of playback of certain songs has becomean increasingly difficult problem to solve. Thus, as much as 25% of theactivity on streaming platforms today is unlicensed. In addition, evenfor the licensed activity, up to 15% of total royalties remainuncollected annually. The DSPs claim that they lack the necessary dataand technology to help figure out whose claims were legitimate, or evenhow to locate certain parties. In addition, the lack of an authoritativedatabase that covers all existing music rights only adds to the problem.Thus, there is a need for a reliable content identification technologythat allows anyone to register, identify, and track creative works onthe Internet.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding of certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosureand it does not identify key/critical elements of the present disclosureor delineate the scope of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a preludeto the more detailed description that is presented later.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system and method fortracking media file playback using blockchain. First, a request toupload a media file and metadata associated with the media file isreceived. Next, the media file and metadata are uploaded via ablockchain protocol. Next, a request to play the media file is receivedfrom a digital service provider (DSP) platform or one of their endusers' devices. The request to play the media file is validated via theblockchain protocol. Upon validating the request to play the media file,the media file is transmitted for playback at the client device or DSPplatform. Last, the interactions with the media file are tracked via theblockchain protocol.

Additional advantages and novel features of these aspects will be setforth in part in the description that follows, and in part will becomemore apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing or upon learning by practice of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate particular embodiments of the present disclosure. In thedescription that follows, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. Thedrawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figuresmay be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest ofclarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 shows an example diagram of available user types' relationships,data, and functions in disclosed systems, in accordance with embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example latency analysis from a song play requestto serving fingerprinted content, in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram of sharding, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a diagram of one example of how the music industry isconnected, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of one example of the role of a basicadministrator, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a diagram of one example of a basic data flow of anend-user, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of one example of a media file playback trackingnetwork, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a system diagram of an example of a system for trackingmedia file playback, in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of a method for tracking media file playback,in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows one example of a computer system, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows one example of a linked list data structure, in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a conceptual example of a blockchain, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows an example of merkelizing of a portion of a platform dataset, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to some specific examples of thedisclosure including the best modes contemplated by the inventors forcarrying out the disclosure. Examples of these specific embodiments areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the disclosure isdescribed in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will beunderstood that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to thedescribed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims.

For example, the techniques of the present disclosure will be describedin the context of media file transmissions, cryptography, data storage,and media access validation. However, it should be noted that thetechniques of the present disclosure apply to a wide variety of networktransactions, collaborative environments, data structures, and differenttypes of data. In the following description, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of thepresent disclosure. Particular example embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be implemented without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process operations have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the presentdisclosure.

Various techniques and mechanisms of the present disclosure willsometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it shouldbe noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of atechnique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless notedotherwise. For example, a system uses a processor in a variety ofcontexts. However, it will be appreciated that a system can use multipleprocessors while remaining within the scope of the present disclosureunless otherwise noted. Furthermore, the techniques and mechanisms ofthe present disclosure will sometimes describe a connection between twoentities. It should be noted that a connection between two entities doesnot necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety ofother entities may reside between the two entities. For example, aprocessor may be connected to memory, but it will be appreciated that avariety of bridges and controllers may reside between the processor andmemory. Consequently, a connection does not necessarily mean a direct,unimpeded connection unless otherwise noted.

As used herein, the term “platform” will refer to the platform systemsand methods disclosed herein. Throughout the disclosure, the terms“platform” and “system” are used interchangeably. According to variousembodiments, a blockchain music platform is provided. In someembodiments, a blockchain is defined as a decentralized, secure, andunalterable digital ledger or database that keeps a permanent record ofall transactions. In some embodiments, on a blockchain ledger are “smartcontracts,” which lay out the terms and costs of blockchaintransactions. In some embodiments, the smart contracts can be amended,but all previous versions remain on the blockchain. Because of thecomplete history of transactions and changes to smart contracts,blockchain technology is inherently more transparent and secure thancurrent systems of closed contracts and databases.

In some embodiments, the blockchain music platform allows users toupload media files, e.g., songs, along with metadata associated with themedia files, to the server or database. In some embodiments, once arequest to upload a song is received, a blockchain transaction iscreated for the song and saved to the blockchain. In some embodiments,data such as song details, content access details, and stakeholders'stakes, as well as hundreds of other potential metadata fields, are alsosaved to the blockchain. In some embodiments, to ensure that data isimmutable and the network is secure, transactions on the blockchain needto be validated before being finalized. In some embodiments, validationoccurs only after at least 2 or more transaction validators (sealers),or authorized/trusted validation nodes, can validate the transactions.

In some embodiments, because the data storage needs are great in orderto practically support media streaming for a large plurality of users,the system will not use token. However, in other embodiments, tokens canbe created and used for payment processing.

In some embodiments, transactions are validated using a Proof ofAuthority (PoA) consensus algorithm. In other embodiments, transactionsare validated using a Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm. However, accordingto various embodiments, PoA works better for the systems and methodsdisclosed for the following reasons. First, in PoA, only certain partiesare allowed to validate transactions on the blockchain. Since the nodesthat are allowed to seal blocks or validate transactions and identifywhich party they belong to are predefined, then the time needed forvalidation can be decreased. Second, transactions in PoA can befinalized as soon as they are processed by the blockchain, since anyauthorized sealer can cryptographically validate transactions.Consequently, blocks can be appended to the blockchain in any order aslong as they are valid. Thus, another consequence of the PoA is that“uncle blocks” or “orphan blocks” are eliminated, since valid blocks donot get rejected simply due to the mechanism of the blockchain. Third,transaction throughput for PoA implementations are only limited by thehardware they run on. Thus, the systems disclosed can accommodate formillions of transactions per second. By contrast, for PoWimplementations, the transaction throughput is mostly limited by thedifficulty of the required proof of work in the protocol. Last, PoA isnot susceptible to Sybil attacks since the identities of the nodes areknown.

In some embodiments, the PoA consensus algorithm uses the followingformula to decide which nodes are allowed to seal the next block:(Number of consecutive blocks minded per sealer)=(floor(Number ofSealers/2)+1)

In other embodiments, the transaction will be validated and sealed bythe first two available sealers in order to ensure prompt availabilityof content. In some embodiments, block proposals will not be used. Insuch embodiments, once a song or media file is requested by a clientdevice, a short buffer of the song or media file is instantlytransmitted or streamed. However, the full song or media file will notbe piped to the client device until the transaction is finalized on theblockchain, usually within less than a second later. In someembodiments, the playback of a media file is not accounted for until apredetermined amount of the content has been played by the end user.Thus, in cases where an end-user does not consume the content for thepredetermined length of time, the initialization of the play may haveoccurred and some content may be streamed to the end-user, however sincethey did not consume the content for long enough, the play event willnot be sent to the blockchain.

According to various embodiments, billions of transactions can be madeto the blockchain every hour. Consequently, a large amount of data maybe stored on the blockchain. Thus, it may become impractical to controlstorage costs if every node needed to have a full history of theblockchain. Thus, in some embodiments, various different compatibleversions of the blockchain client are created. In such embodiments,“lighter” clients will have the same functionality as the regularblockchain client. However, these clients do not need to contain all ofthe past blockchain history in order to do certain tasks such asvalidating transactions. Thus, in some embodiments, light clients do notneed to download a portion of the blockchain history. In someembodiments, sealers only need download the latest block's header thatwas sealed in order to start validating transactions. In someembodiments, sealers are only tasked with validating cryptographicsignatures and do not need any history of the blockchain's events. For“heavier” clients, data on the blockchain are pruned by using blockheaders as references. In some embodiments, lighter clients can use aMerkle Tree to hash data and store the root to reduce the requiredstorage space. However, in some embodiments, parties have the option ofrunning full nodes to have copies of the entire blockchain. In someembodiments, parties can choose whether to keep blockchain data directlyon the node or to offload the data into a separate storage solution.

According to various embodiments, different parties involved with theplatform will need different digital infrastructures. For example, DSPsand Music Labels may want to participate in securing the network usingthe platform's consensus protocol. However, different parties are freeto make their own blockchain clients as long as they follow theplatform's consensus protocol specifications.

In some embodiments, a node can be run by a single computer. In someembodiments, a node can be run across an array of computers. Somearchitecture choices for running a node can include using load balancersor serverless technologies. The main requirement for each node is thatit needs to represent one identity, perhaps by being represented by oneor many public keys registered against the participant's identity.

In some embodiments, servers of the platform provide more services thanjust being a participant in the network. In some embodiments, theservers are responsible for serving digital media content directly tolisteners via a content delivery network (CDN). In such embodiments, theplatform will use the anycast methodology with nginx for a distributedset of content servers. In such embodiments, each time a file is served,it is also fingerprinted with the transaction hash or other identifyinginformation.

In some embodiments, DSPs will be required to change their client sideapplications. For example, DSPs likely have a separate endpoint for eachsong on their platform. Thus, DSPs will need to change the endpointscurrently serving the file to one that will make a request to theblockchain network. Once the request is validated, the full song filewill be piped to the user by the CDN.

In some embodiments, in order to cryptographically verify that a userhas made a certain action, the blockchain protocol leverages ellipticalcurve digital signature algorithms (ECDSA). In such embodiments,end-users need to create a signature every time a request is sent. Thus,DSPs must supply their listeners (either on the client's device or usingthe DSP's own server) with a cryptographic keypair.

According to various embodiments, due to the large amount oftransactions per second handled by DSPs, several methods for scaling areprovided. In some embodiments, a consortium blockchain is implementedinstead of a public blockchain. When building the consortium blockchain,PoA is used. By staking their identity/reputation, transactionvalidators are able to quickly approve requests and are only constrainedby their own hardware and internet infrastructure.

In some embodiments, it is not feasible to use a single blockchain torecord transactions occurring across the network. In some embodiments,the blockchain can be partitioned into geographic shards. For example,one shard could be responsible for North America while another isresponsible for London. In some embodiments, including other embodimentsnoted in the present disclosure, the blockchain can be partitioned byLabel and DSP relationship. For example, a shard can be between StreamCoand Label A while StreamCo has another shard with Label B. In suchembodiments of relationship sharding, the participants cannot accessdata from a relationship that they do not belong to.

In some embodiments, each participant in the blockchain network isrequired to run a minimum number of nodes spread across the globe. Thus,the platform's bootnodes will geographically group sealers using arouting algorithm. In some embodiments, once a shard is spawned from themain chain, it is periodically merklized and the root hash is taken andstored on the main chain. Periodically, or once the shard is closed, thehistory of it is added to the main chain. In some embodiments, in theunlikely case of a dispute in a shard, the most recent cryptographicallyprovable data will be used as the truth. In some embodiments, end usersare assigned and unassigned from geographic shards by requests made onthe main or DSP-Label relationship shards. In some embodiments, once auser is assigned to a certain shard, they cannot make requests inanother shard within the same DSP-Label relationship shard.

In some embodiments, off-chain scaling can be incorporated into theprotocol. For example, state channels, child chains, or sharding chainscan all be used in the consensus protocol. The following exampleillustrates one method for incorporating off-chain scaling. In theexample, the platform's sharding implementation uses a main chaintransaction to open a relationship. As a note, every media play iscounted instead of just the final outcome of the state channel.

Example: Alice opens up her music application to play music from a DSP.She is assigned to the appropriate geographic shards for her DSP (eitherexisting or newly created if resources are available). Alice can nowstream any amount of media content without stressing the main chain.Each stream request is signed by Alice using her private key and can beverified by any sealing node by using her public key.

Looking at the following use case of her music application one ofordinary skill in the art can see how sharding improves performance:Alice requests to play a song by cryptographically signing a request.The request is verified by at least two sealers before the platform CDNstreams music to Alice. The call to the song's address will be recordedto the shard's blockchain. The difference between this method and aconventional call to the blockchain is that the requests won't becommitted to the main chain right away. At arbitrary intervals in thesong's runtime, a request is automatically made from the client withinthe shard to get the next part of the song the user is listening to.Data will be piped in chunks to keep track of playback data. If at anypoint there's a transaction that wasn't signed by Alice or there's adispute on the number of songs that she played, the most recentcryptographically provable data is committed to the main chain. Then theshard continues or closes and the main chain reassigns all the activeusers in the shard. If Alice hasn't listened to any music for anarbitrarily set amount of time (as defined when she joined the shard),then she is unassigned from all shards.

In some embodiments, every song streamed from one of the platform's CDNswill be stamped allowing the original streamer of the content to beidentified. In some embodiments, the entire fingerprinting process isbroken up into two main components: stamping (applying the fingerprintto the track) and scraping (finding tracks that were originally playedfrom the platform's CDNs and identifying how the content leaked). Insome embodiments, the fingerprinting method must remain secret in orderto ensure bad actors don't try to remove or distort their identifyingfingerprint.

In some embodiments, by stamping files using digital steganography,minimal user data can be hidden within the data that is being sent tothe user. Each time a song is streamed or downloaded, a hidden“watermark” can be written to the file. Using digital signal processing,an algorithm can write or identify parts of digital content that arecommon to every file of that format. For example, every mp3 file willhave a point in the song that is a lower pitch than all the otherportions of the song. At the common point of the song, an encrypteddigital fingerprint of the user can be added.

In some embodiments, stamp recognition software will extract digitalfingerprints by using digital signal processing to deconvolute theoriginal file uploaded from the file that was scraped from the web. If adigital fingerprint is found, it can be decrypted and traced back to auser and time of play. In some embodiments, scraping for fingerprintedcontent can be broken down into 3 major steps: 1) Build a web crawlerfor common pirating/streaming sites. 2) Extract and cache audio files.This step requires a custom solution for scraping for eachstreaming/download site. 3) Run cached audio against the stamprecognition software.

According to various embodiments, the systems and methods disclosedallow for verification of catalog, ownership, and payment details formedia files. In some embodiments, the systems also allow for accruingand accounting of payments. In some embodiments, the systems also allowfor depositing the correct amounts in the correct accounts. In someembodiments, the systems provide for equitable, transparent, auditable,and near-real-time payment for creators of musical works and soundrecordings (artists), labels, and distribution platforms. In addition,in some embodiments, the systems provide real-time compliance andauditing mechanisms.

FIG. 1 shows an example diagram of some available user types'relationships, data, and functions in disclosed systems, in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, basedon a user's role, they will have different responsibilities on thedisclosed platform. In FIG. 1, every user 106 is able to make their owncryptographic key pair for signing data and verifying signatures againstgiven data and public keys.

In some embodiments, labels 102 are in charge of uploading songs andalbum metadata to the platform. In some embodiments, labels canadditionally approve songs in their catalog to be distributed by DSPs.In some embodiments, label administrators prepare a song or album forthe platform by filling in the required metadata, uploading the songfile, and assigning stakeholder shares. Upon receiving a valid uploadrequest from a label account, an entry is broadcasted to the blockchain.In response to an artist being credited to a song, the artist now hasthe option to approve the song, which will make it available to the DSPon the song's release date.

In some embodiments, the uploaded song is held on a media server and canonly be accessed by users who have made a cryptographically validrequest to the blockchain to access the content. In some embodiments,the administrator can use the platform web product to view analyticaldata about song playbacks. In some embodiments, the administrator canbreak down data by each request, allowing them to track how users areengaging with their content.

In some embodiments, once an artist 104 gets a contract offer with alabel 102, artist 104 can accept being added to the label 102. In someembodiments, artist 104 may not be assigned to a label. In suchembodiments, artist 104 is able to act as their own label on theplatform. When a label 102 uploads a song, it is unconfirmed until thecredited artist 104 approves the upload. Artists 104 are allowed to viewtheir own song playback data via the platform but are restricted fromviewing any of their colleagues' data.

In some embodiments, stakeholders 108 for each song are determinedbefore getting finalized on the blockchain. In some embodiments, apercentage of revenue of each song is assigned to stakeholders 108. Insome embodiments, stakeholders 108 are able to view data on songs whichthey own part of.

In some embodiments, thanks to DSPs 110, end-users 106 are given accessto songs. Since most DSPs 110 use a subscription model there'sfunctionality to allow a user 106 to listen to any song on the DSP'splatform for a set time period. In some embodiments, the suggestedchanges that existing DSPs will need to make to their systems in orderto leverage the platform's technology are minor.

In some embodiments, users 112 of a DSP's application should notperceive any difference when streaming songs. Instead, the DSP 110 thatcreated the end user is in charge of managing the user's key. Whetherthe DSP wants to sign requests using their own servers or their clientapplications is up to the DSP.

In some embodiments, latency issues arise when nodes are notsufficiently close, meaning the latency between two nodes goes up as thedistance between them increases. By leveraging geographic sharding ofthe child chains, signal travel time will be reduced. FIG. 2 will helpexplore latency on the blockchain network. FIG. 2 illustrates an examplelatency analysis from a song play request to serving fingerprintedcontent, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thelatency 200 can be broken down into steps, some of which run inparallel.

At 202, a song is requested for play. In some embodiments, when an enduser plays a song, the request is transmitted to 2 main places: theblockchain shard assigned to the user and the CDN. At 204, thefingerprinted file is prepared. Steps 206 and 208 deal with sealing therequest. In some embodiments, the first 2 out of 3 distinct parties tovalidate the request will signal that the transaction is sealed. At 206,the request is validated by the first node. At 208, the request isvalidated by the second node. Not visualised here is a third node thatis slower than the other two nodes, 206 and 208, at validating theincoming play request. This slower node can still have its cryptographicsignature attached to the play event eventually, however it is notrequired to seal this play request. At 210, content is served to theuser. In some embodiments, the server pipes the digital media file tothe user. As a result of the path outlined in FIG. 2, the followingequation for a successful file response can be written:t _(latency)=max(

,

,

)+max(t _(prep file)+

,

)+t _(serve file)

In some embodiments, privacy of data is important. According to variousembodiments, there are two ways for DSPs and labels to ensure that theircompetitors are not able to view their analytical data: 1) multi-layeredsharding and 2) zero knowledge proofs.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram of multi-layered sharding, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3illustrates main chain 302, relationship shards 304 and 308, as well asgeographic shards 306 and 310. In some embodiments, each Label-DSPrelationship is grouped into its own shard 304 or 308.

In some embodiments, zero knowledge proofs are also used to ensure dataprivacy. With zero knowledge proofs, network participants cancryptographically validate a transaction without revealing the data inthe transaction. In some embodiments, any data written to the chainshould use one-way encryption. This keeps any data on the chain as onlyreadable by the parties who have the key to decrypt the data. In someembodiments, the decryption key on each relationship shard will beshared between the DSP and Label.

In some embodiments, while having the platform own the servers for theCDN requires the least trust between labels and DSPs, there arealternative tracking methods available. For example, the platform cancreate a software development kit (SDK) or library to run with the DSPs'applications. In such an example, the primary purpose of the SDK is toprovide the DSP with the right cryptography algorithms used to sign andverify transactions. In some embodiments, the DSP will be required toprovide a report at regular intervals or by certain triggers, withplayback event data and their associated signatures. In someembodiments, the platform will arrange an auditing system where thesystem creates end-user accounts on the streaming platform and ensuresthat the plays are being counted according to the protocol. In someembodiments, the benefits of using the SDK include the fact that theDSPs will be happy they can hold onto the content. In some embodiments,the drawbacks of this method include the fact that the DSPs stillcontrol the content on their servers and that Labels can only verifyfigures by doing a covert audit of the DSP. In some embodiments, theplatform will have to write an implementation of the plugin for each ofthe DSPs' interfaces (web, mobile app, desktop app).

In some embodiments, another alternative tracking method involvesencrypted codecs. In such embodiments the platform can create a customfile type to encrypt a file every time it is accessed. In someembodiments, the DSPs can then hold the encrypted files on their ownservers. This encryption method could take in a signed request by theuser in order to decrypt the file. In some embodiments, the benefits ofthis method include the fact that offline interactions can betrustlessly taken into account with this method. In some embodiments,another benefit is the possibility of covertly stamping the user's datato the file in the decryption step. In some embodiments, yet anotherbenefit includes the fact that DSPs are happy they can hold onto thecontent. In some embodiments, the drawbacks of this method include thefact that it requires talent to research and implement a new standard.In some embodiments, another drawback includes the fact that there isstill a vector to steal the contents of the file by accessing thedevice's cache on which the content is being played. In someembodiments, yet another drawback is that fact that DSPs have toimplement the codec standards the platform puts forward.

FIGS. 4-10 are illustrated to provide more context to the music industryand the role that the platform (and the disclosed systems and methods)plays in licensing and streaming music.

FIG. 4 shows a diagram 400 of one example of how the music industry isconnected, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. InFIG. 4, composers 402 assign musical works copyright to publisher 404.Next publisher 404 grants a performance license to performance rightsorganizations (PROs) 428. PROs 428 then issues blanket licenses toRadio/TV 424, Stadiums 422, and DSPs 418. Going back to publisher 404,publisher 404 also gives reproduction licenses to sheet music printers406, subpublishing licenses to foreign publishers 408, sync licenses tomovie studios 410, as well as mechanical licenses to record companies412. In some embodiments, the mechanical licenses go through the HarryFox Agency 416. Record companies 412 are also assigned sound recordingcopyrights from performers 420 and then subsequently provide soundexchange 414 with DSPS 418.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram 500 of one example of the role of a basicadministrator, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.First, administrative dashboard 512 sends a song creation request 502 toserver 504. Next, server 504 creates a contract 506 on blockchain 508.Last, administrative dashboard 512 analyzes song usage 510 at theblockchain.

FIG. 6 shows a diagram 600 of one example of a basic data flow of anend-user, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.Diagram 600 begins with client application 612 sending a play songrequest 602 to platform CDN server 614, blockchain 608, and DSPauthentication server 616. Next, DSP authentication server 616communicates 604 to the blockchain network 608 that the user is indeedallowed to access the specified resource. Next, blockchain 608broadcasts that the play is ready to be initialized by the CDN 614 tothe client application 612. Last, platform CDN server 614 serves thecontent to the user 610.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram 700 of one example of a media file playbacktracking network, in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. DSP 702 transmits a content request 704 to blockchainnetwork 706. Blockchain network 706 then verifies the request 716. Afterthe request is verified and considered sealed, CDN 720 serves content718 to the DSP 702 or to the DSP's end-user who made the originalplayback request. Transactions that are validated are archived 708 forlater inspection or audit into a data storage solution 710. Periodicallyor upon certain events, a segment of the blockchain data is distilleddown to its merkle root hash 714 and that root hash is written to athird party blockchain network 712. The mechanism for writing to anexternal blockchain is further explored in FIG. 13.

FIG. 8 shows a system diagram of an example of a system 800 forexchanging information within a network environment, in accordance withsome implementations. System 800 includes a variety of differenthardware and/or software components which are in communication with eachother. In the non-limiting example of FIG. 8, system 800 includes atleast one system server 804, at least one client device 808. In someembodiments, system 800 includes at least one digital service provider(DSP) 880. One example of a DSP is Spotify or iTunes. In someembodiments, system 800 also includes a music label 882, and/or at leastone artist 886. In some embodiments, music label 882 represents anduploads music from artists 886, but sometimes, artists 886 do not have arecord label and thus upload music directly to system server 804. Oftentimes, client device 808 streams songs from DSP 880. System 800 allowsfor system server 804 to help keep track of what songs are beingstreamed at client 808 via DSP 880.

System server 804 may communicate with other components of system 800.This communication may be facilitated through a combination of networksand interfaces. System server 804 may handle and process data requestsand data transfers from the client device 808 (for direct contentdelivery models) and DSP 880. Likewise, system server 804 may return aresponse to client device 808 after a data request has been processed.For example, System server 804 may retrieve data from one or moredatabases, such as music label 882 or artist 886. It may combine some orall of the data from different databases, and send the processed data toone or more client devices or DSPs.

A client device 808 and DSP 880 may be computing devices capable ofcommunicating via one or more data networks with a server. Examples ofclient device 808 and DSP 880 include a desktop computer or portableelectronic device such as a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a wearabledevice, an optical head-mounted display (OHMD) device, a smart watch, aseparate server, etc. Client device 808 and DSP 880 include at least onebrowser in which applications may be deployed.

Music label 882 can be a database implemented in a relational ornon-relational database management system. In some embodiments, thisdatabase can include the contents of one or more client-relateddatabases within a network environment.

Artist 886 can be an individual artist not associated with arecord/music label, or an artist that is associated, but has specialneeds not fulfilled by the music label. In some embodiments,communication with artists 886 can include edits, modifications, and/ortracked changes information related to songs, albums, or any otherstreaming media associated with the artist.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of a method 900 for tracking media fileplayback, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.Method 900 for begins with receiving (902) a request to upload a mediafile and metadata associated with the media file. Next, the media fileand metadata associated with the media file are uploaded (904) via ablockchain protocol. At 906, a request to play the media file from aclient device or a digital service provider (DSP) platform is received.At 908, the request to play the media file is validated via theblockchain protocol. At 910, upon validating the request to play themedia file, the media file is transmitted or streamed for playback atthe client device or DSP platform. However, a small portion of thebeginning of the media file could be streamed to the end user before therequest has been validated in the interest of keeping latency low. Last,the number of times the media file is played up to a predeterminedlength is tracked (912) via the blockchain protocol.

In some embodiments, the blockchain protocol utilizes a proof ofauthority algorithm. In some embodiments, validating the requestincludes cryptographically validating the request by two authorizedsealers from a plurality of sealers. In some embodiments, the request toplay the media file includes a request to the blockchain to access thecontent at a specified time. In some embodiments, requests to theblockchain can be finalized as soon as they hit the blockchain therebyallowing appending to the blockchain in any order. In some embodiments,a short buffer of the media file is instantly streamed after receivingthe request to play the media file, but the rest of the media file isonly streamed after the request to play has been validated. In someembodiments, different versions of the blockchain client can be used fordifferent clients assuming they follow the platform protocol rules.

Various computing devices can implement the methods described. Forinstance, a mobile device, computer system, etc. can be used foraccessing aspects of the network environment by either the client, musiclabel, or DSP. With reference to FIG. 10, shown is a particular exampleof a computer system that can be used to implement particular examplesof the present disclosure. For instance, the computer system 1000 can beused to provide generate artificially rendered images according tovarious embodiments described above. In addition, the computer system1000 shown can represent a computing system on a mobile device.According to particular example embodiments, a system 1000 suitable forimplementing particular embodiments of the present disclosure includes aprocessor 1001, a memory 1003, an interface 1011, and a bus 1015 (e.g.,a PCI bus). The interface 1011 may include separate input interface 1013and output interface 1015, or may be a unified interface supporting bothoperations. When acting under the control of appropriate software orfirmware, the processor 1001 is responsible for such tasks such asoptimization. Various specially configured devices can also be used inplace of a processor 1001 or in addition to processor 1001. The completeimplementation can also be done in custom hardware. The interface 1011is typically configured to send and receive data packets or datasegments over a network. Particular examples of interfaces the devicesupports include Ethernet interfaces, frame relay interfaces, cableinterfaces, DSL interfaces, token ring interfaces, and the like.

In addition, various very high-speed interfaces may be provided such asfast Ethernet interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, ATM interfaces,HSSI interfaces, POS interfaces, FDDI interfaces and the like.Generally, these interfaces may include ports appropriate forcommunication with the appropriate media. In some cases, they may alsoinclude an independent processor and, in some instances, volatile RAM.The independent processors may control such communications intensivetasks as packet switching, media control and management.

According to particular example embodiments, the system 1000 uses memory1003 to store data and program instructions and maintain a local sidecache. The program instructions may control the operation of anoperating system and/or one or more applications, for example. Thememory or memories may also be configured to store received metadata andbatch requested metadata.

Because such information and program instructions may be employed toimplement the systems/methods described herein, the present disclosurerelates to tangible, machine readable media that include programinstructions, state information, etc. for performing various operationsdescribed herein. Examples of machine-readable media include hard disks,floppy disks, magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROM disks andDVDs; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devicesthat are specially configured to store and perform program instructions,such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and programmable read-only memorydevices (PROMs). Examples of program instructions include both machinecode, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher levelcode that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

FIG. 11 shows a linked list data structure 1100 represented with threedata segments 1102, 1104, and 1106. Conventional blockchains arestructured similar to linked lists such that each segment of data refersto a previously created segment of data. For example, data segment 1106contains a set of arbitrary data. In order for data segment 1106 tobecome a part of the entire data set, it contains a reference to thedata segment that preceded it. In this case data segment 1104 comesbefore data segment 1106, therefore data segment 1106 contains areference to data segment 1104. In some embodiments, the first entryinto a linked list, FIG. 11 the data segment 1102, does not have areference to any other data segments.

FIG. 12 shows a conceptual example of a blockchain 1200. Each block(1202, 1204, and 1206) contains a set of data within it. This data canbe arbitrarily set, however, it is traditionally a list of transactions.In a similar spirit to the linked list in FIG. 11, each block has areference to the block that preceded it. One distinguishing trait ofblockchains as a data structure is that they contain cryptographicproofs that the data that they hold in each block has not been tamperedwith.

To ensure that historic data on the platform's network as a whole hasnot been tampered with, periodically segments of the data 1304 areaggregated and merklized 1306. This merkle root of the set of data isthen written to a third-party blockchain 1302 that could be backed byany consensus algorithm such as Proof of Work or Proof of Stake. Themotivation behind creating audit points that lie outside of theplatform's blockchain 1308 is so any attacks performed on the platform'sblockchain would be more expensive to undertake since the third partynetwork 1302 would need to be attacked as well. For example, FIG. 13shows an example of merkelizing of a portion of the platform's data set1304. Given a set of data that is claimed to be from a specific segmentof the platform's blockchain, the veracity can be concluded bymerkelizing the set of data and ensuring it produces the same merkleroot that exists on the third party blockchain 1302.

Although many of the components and processes are described above in thesingular for convenience, it will be appreciated by one of skill in theart that multiple components and repeated processes can also be used topractice the techniques of the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that changes in the form and details of thedisclosed embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of the disclosure. It is therefore intended that the disclosure beinterpreted to include all variations and equivalents that fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; and memory, thememory storing instructions to cause a processor to execute a method,the method comprising: verifying a user for requesting play of mediafiles; receiving a request to play a media file from the verified user;validating the request to play the media file via a blockchain protocol,wherein if the request to play the media file is not validated, then itis not considered a valid request to play the media file; uponvalidating the request to play the media file, transmitting the mediafile for playback; and incrementing a play count by one, wherein theplay count corresponds to a number of times the media file has beentransmitted for playback, wherein the number of times the media file isplayed up to a predetermined length is tracked via the block chainprotocol, wherein the request to play the media file includes a requestto access the blockchain.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theblockchain protocol utilizes a proof of authority algorithm.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein validating the request includescryptographically validating the request by two authorized sealers froma plurality of sealers.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the request toplay the media file includes a request to the blockchain to access thecontent at a specified time.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein requeststo the blockchain can be finalized as soon as they hit the blockchainthereby allowing appending to the blockchain in any order.
 6. The systemof claim 1, wherein a short buffer of the media file is instantlystreamed after receiving the request to play the media file, but therest of the media file is only streamed after the request to play hasbeen validated.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein different versions ofthe blockchain client are created for different clients.
 8. A methodcomprising: verifying a user for requesting play of media files;receiving a request to play a media file from the verified user;validating the request to play the media file via a blockchain protocol,wherein if the request to play the media file is not validated, then itis not considered a valid request to play the media file; uponvalidating the request to play the media file, transmitting the mediafile for playback; and incrementing a play count by one, wherein theplay count corresponds to a number of times the media file has beentransmitted for playback, wherein the number of times the media file isplayed up to a predetermined length is tracked via the block chainprotocol, wherein the request to play the media file includes a requestto access the blockchain.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theblockchain protocol utilizes a proof of authority algorithm.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein validating the request includescryptographically validating the request by two authorized sealers froma plurality of sealers.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the requestto play the media file includes a request to the blockchain to accessthe content at a specified time.
 12. The method of claim 8, whereinrequests to the blockchain can be finalized as soon as they hit theblockchain thereby allowing appending to the blockchain in any order.13. The method of claim 8, wherein a short buffer of the media file isinstantly streamed after receiving the request to play the media file,but the rest of the media file is only streamed after the request toplay has been validated.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein differentversions of the blockchain client are created for different clients. 15.A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions toexecute a method, the method comprising: verifying a user for requestingplay of media files; receiving a request to play a media file from theverified user; validating the request to play the media file via ablockchain protocol, wherein if the request to play the media file isnot validated, then it is not considered a valid request to play themedia file; upon validating the request to play the media file,transmitting the media file for playback; and incrementing a play countby one, wherein the play count corresponds to a number of times themedia file has been transmitted for playback, wherein the number oftimes the media file is played up to a predetermined length is trackedvia the block chain protocol, wherein the request to play the media fileincludes a request to access the blockchain.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the blockchain protocolutilizes a proof of authority algorithm.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein validating the request includescryptographically validating the request by two authorized sealers froma plurality of sealers.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 15, wherein the request to play the media file includes arequest to the blockchain to access the content at a specified time. 19.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, whereinrequests to the blockchain can be finalized as soon as they hit theblockchain thereby allowing appending to the blockchain in any order.20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein ashort buffer of the media file is instantly streamed after receiving therequest to play the media file, but the rest of the media file is onlystreamed after the request to play has been validated.